<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: normal; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Dear Graduate Students,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: normal; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The Department of Political Science at UCR is pleased to announce that proposals are now being accepted for research awards of up to $1,500 from the David Pion-Berlin Award.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: normal; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>About the Award:</b><br>Dr. David Pion-Berlin is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of California, Riverside. His work has shaped the study of civil-military relations, human rights, political violence, security, and defense in comparative politics. After 33 years of service, Dr. Pion-Berlin retired in July 2024, but his impact on research and mentorship continues to shape our understanding of Latin American politics through a body of work that includes over 80 articles and 10 books.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: normal; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">He has been recognized for his exceptional mentorship, receiving the Graduate Dissertation Advising and Mentoring Award (2015–2016) and serving as dissertation chair for over 25 doctoral students. Among his many honors are the 2019 Alfred Stepan Lifetime Achievement Award in Defense, Public Security, and Democracy and the 2019 Giuseppe Caforio ERGOMAS Award for Best Book (2017–2018).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: normal; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">In recognition of his research interests and his goal of advancing graduate research, the award provides graduate students with up to $1,500 to aid in conducting research in Comparative Politics and Latin America.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: normal; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>Eligibility Criteria:</b><o:p></o:p></span></p><ol start="1" type="1" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: normal; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Must be a PhD student in Political Science.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: normal; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Must have passed comprehensive exams.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: normal; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Research must focus on comparative politics.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: normal; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Research must be relevant to Latin America.<o:p></o:p></span></li></ol><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: normal; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>Proposal Requirements:</b><o:p></o:p></span></p><ul type="disc" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: normal; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Research Description (1–2 pages): Include a discussion of your research question, method, and theoretical framework.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: normal; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Funding Plan (1–2 pages): Describe how the funds will be spent, including a budget sheet clearly outlining estimated costs for each expense category (e.g., travel, materials, transcription, research assistance) and the total requested amount. Include a timeline indicating which part of your research the funds will support and when each part is expected to be completed.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: normal; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Post-Research Summary (1 page): Students must submit a summary describing the use of funds within 30 days of the completion date listed on their timeline. Failure to do so will make students ineligible for future discretionary department funding.<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: normal; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>Allowable Uses of Funds:</b><o:p></o:p></span></p><ul type="disc" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: normal; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Travel to field sites or archives.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: normal; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Purchasing data or research materials.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: normal; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Transcribing interviews.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: normal; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Hiring research assistance.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: normal; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Copying, mailing, or other reasonable research expenses (as determined by the award committee).<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: normal; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>Submission and Selection:</b><o:p></o:p></span></p><ul type="disc" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: normal;"><font face="Times New Roman, serif" size="3">Submit your applications electronically to the Award Chair Dr. Diego Esparza: <a href="mailto:diego.esparza@ucr.edu">diego.esparza@ucr.edu</a><o:p></o:p></font></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: normal; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Deadline: October 31st by midnight.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: normal; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Applications will be reviewed by an ad-hoc faculty committee composed of comparative politics sub-field faculty.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: normal; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Greater consideration will be given to work related to dissertation research.<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: normal; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">We strongly encourage eligible students to apply and take advantage of this opportunity to support their research in comparative politics and Latin America.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: normal; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">If you have any questions please reach out to me.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: normal; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: normal;"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">Best regards,</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: normal;"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><br>Dr. Diego Esparza</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;">Chair of David Pion-Berlin Award Committee</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: normal;"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">Department of Political Science<br>University of California, Riverside</font></p></body></html>